Extra Set of Hands
by UnendingEmpire
Summary: Yoshika finds herself no longer in service to her master, so the loyal jiang shi sets out to find a new job! Her first few attempts aren't so great, but she soon finds the perfect job, complete with a mentor and friend!
1. Chapter 1: The Job Hunt!

**I've wanted to write a fanfic about these two ever since I saw why it was a viable pairing. PC-98 fans could even add Elly for a Stage-3-gatekeeper love triangle! But I'm not gonna. Meiling and Yoshika go especially well together since they're both Stage 3 bosses, both are gatekeepers, and both are Chinese. For people who've read Poisonous Chinese Tea, I'm not quite sure if Meiling's personality is the same in that fanfic and this one, since I wrote it so very long ago, but I think Yoshika's personality here is very cheerful and cute.**

**Oh, did you know Yoshika's in MUGEN? She's not very strong, though :| she only has five attacks, moves very slow, and three of her attacks require you to be right in front of the enemy. I guess if one trained up with her, she could be powerful, but I've been playing Kohaku's Meiling for a while now so as to improve myself with her.**

* * *

"Wait, what? You mean…you don't want me anymore?"

"W-Wait, I didn't mean it that way! It's just that, being your master for such a long time," Seiga explained nervously, "I've grown sort of…attached to you, Yoshika. But, to be honest, as much as I still _want_ you here, we don't _need_ you here now that the resurrection is complete. And I can't bear to see you just walking around with no purpose."

"So…I'm confused," the jiang shi said. "What's this mean?"

"You're free." Seiga placed her hands on her cute underling's shoulders, and said "Go out and explore. Do what you want with your eternal unlife, Yoshika, but don't come back here where you have no purpose."

"…but, I like it here. I-"

"I won't have it. Because I care, I want you to go. Please, leave, before I have to order you to."

"…" Those words hurt. A lot. And it showed on Yoshika's face. "If you really feel that's what I have to do…" With that, the jiang shi left, trying to figure out just what she'd done wrong to have herself leaving the group. "Goodbye, master."

* * *

**A few days later…**

"I know," Yoshika said happily. "I'll find a job!" She figured that spring was the best time of year to get a job, despite the fact that there was a 75% chance of her being wrong. Not like she would be able to figure it out, anyway.

* * *

_Job attempt #1, day 2 of job search_

"Are you sure you can work here," Rinnosuke asked. "I mean, the extra help is great and all, but-"

"Hey, what's this thing?" Yoshika held out some strange black box. It was far harder than wood or other materials for boxes, and had some letters etched into one side and a few slits on all the adjacent sides. "Is there something inside?"

"It's from the outside world, and people use it to entertain themselves. I don't quite know how-"

_CHOMP!_ "…nope, nothing's inside this box."

"…"

* * *

_Job attempt #4, day 6 of job search_

"Yoshika," the barkeep called. "Get these drinks over to Table Five!"

"On it, sir!" Rigor mortis wasn't the best of things for a waitress to have. But then again, how many waitresses could say that they were a jiang shi? At least she could pick up the trays and make her way over to the table she had to get the drinks to. But there was a problem. Her shoulders couldn't bend far enough to put the trays of drinks down! And when she tried, _CRASH!_ Glasses were shattered, beer was spilt, and four burly guys at Table Five looked pretty pissed off.

"…"

* * *

_Job attempt #24, day 16 of job search_

"Wait, so you mean that these grapes aren't real? They're just decorations?"

"…"

* * *

_Job attempt #186, day 48 of job search_

"…"

"What? Is something on my face?" Maybe working a candy store wasn't the best idea for Yoshika. The chocolate was all around her mouth, and the boss didn't look happy. "Oh, I taste-tested the chocolate, by the way. You did a great job at making it!"

"Yes, but every bite you eat is one less I can sell!"

"But, you hired me two days ago. Nobody's showed up yet, so I figured I'd have a quick bite to eat while I waited for somebody to come to your store."

"…"

* * *

_Job interview #293, day 170 of job search_

"What would you consider to be your skills?"

"My skills? Hmm…oh!"

"You have an answer?"

"No, but I just remembered something! I've seen you before, in the graveyard!"

"Let's stick to the topic at hand, please." Where and when there was ever a "Help Wanted" sign for an extra set of hands in Hakugyokurou confused Youmu to no end, but apparently there was such a sign because Yuyuko had no problems with this jiang shi showing up looking for a job. "We already have a gatekeeper; me. However, I _do_ know of one place that could probably use a gatekeeper."

"Really? Where is it," Yoshika asked excitedly.

"There's a mansion in the Forest of Magic. The mistress is a vampire and her gatekeeper…well, it's usually said that she does less than she's paid for."

"Thank you!" And with that, Yoshika bolted out of Hakugyokurou; off to this mansion!

* * *

_Job interview #294, day 170 of job search_

"So you wanna be a gatekeeper," Meiling asked. With a stomp of her foot, the gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion swung open, as the Chinese gatekeeper continued "You'll be looking for Sakuya. She handles the matters of who we hire around here, especially during sunlight hours. Best wishes!"

"Thanks!" As fast as she could, Yoshika ran up to the doors of the mansion, opened them, and stepped in to become awestruck at the interior. This massive mansion with such a regal interior. It was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside, and it almost seemed more like a castle than a mansion once the jiang shi entered. Work here would definitely be a good thing! For now, she had to find that person that the gatekeeper outside talked about…what was her name again?

"Can I help you," somebody asked. "And is our gatekeeper asleep again?"

"She let me in," Yoshika said cheerfully. "I'm looking for a job and the girl with the swords and the marshmallow said to come here because their gatekeeper was getting paid too much or something…are you hiring?"

"I suppose we _could_ use another gatekeeper…at the least, it would give Meiling something to do to help her stay awake while she's on the clock."

"I'll take the job!"

"You don't think I'll hire you just like that, do you?" Sakuya grabbed the would-be gatekeeper by the hand, and guided her through a number of hallways. "The Scarlet Devil Mansion is the home of our Lady Remilia Scarlet, or the Scarlet Devil as she's known in some parts. I'm the head maid, Sakuya Izayoi, and I'm responsible for most of the affairs of the mansion, including being a direct servant to Lady Remilia and her younger sister, Lady Flandre. You've already met Meiling, who guards the gates, but before I can hire you, I need to see if you're up to the task."

"You can bet I'm up to it! I'm a jiang shi; resurrected specifically to guard things!"

"I'll take your word for it, but don't make me regret it later. You're hired, for now. Your duties are to guard the gates and grounds of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and to ward off intruders. You shall begin now."

"Alri-"

"ZA WARUDO!"

* * *

**Instantly afterwards…**

"So how'd the interview go," Meiling asked. "It was awfully quick, so you were either hired or told never to come back here again."

"Hey, I'm back outside!" How did that happen? One second, she was inside, talking to that maid, and now she was back outside with the gatekeeper. That was amazing but super-confusing at the same time, and it got the (rather rusted) gears in Yoshika's rotten brain turning. Oh, right, the gatekeeper asked how the interview was. "I got the job, and you got to keep yours too!"

"That's great," the Chinese gatekeeper said enthusiastically. "Looks like we're working together from now on. My name is Hong Meiling, don't forget it. And yours?"

"Yoshika Miyako. So is it easy to be a gatekeeper here?"

"Not really. For one, there's this witch who always insists on breaking in, and I can never catch her. There's also a bunch of other people who try to get in uninvited, and then the part that makes our job really hard. Rain or shine, sleet or hail, day or night, hot or cold, no matter the weather, we have to stay out here and make sure nobody gets in the Scarlet Devil Mansion uninvited. Most people say I do a bad job at being a gatekeeper, but I swear it's a lie! The only problem was that there was never anything for me to pass the time with, so I'd usually end up kind of dozing off…but now you're here! Having somebody to socialize with makes it a lot easier to stay awake, and we now have two people to guard these gates."

"So it's a hard job?" A lot of those things sounded fine with Yoshika, but when Meiling got to the "rain or shine, sleet or hail" part, the job sounded harder. She'd get all wet when it rained, and she'd probably freeze in winter as corpses will.

"Well, it sure isn't easy, but you get used to it after a few weeks."

* * *

_Job attempt #293, day 170 of job search_

"So," Yoshika asked. "When do you think an intruder will come by?"

"How about now, ze," an uninvited voice asked.

"Now works fine…oh, wait, you're an intruder! Don't come any closer! This is no place for the likes of you to enter!"

"Then who is it good for, ze?"

"Um…"

"It's good for those with invitation to the Scarlet Devil Mansion," Meiling said. "And you're uninvited, so-"

"**MASTER SPAAARK!**" Meiling was easy to deal with, but this new girl…Marisa had heard word from somebody that she was a lot tougher than Meiling. So the ultimate offensive attack would certainly be needed against her, in order to wipe her out and get into the mansion! There were books in Patchouli's library, and they were just begging to be read. That was the purpose of the massive laser being fired. It was brighter than any light, and the walls around the Scarlet Devil Mansion were enchanted with powerful magic to ward off such attacks because of the Master Spark's sheer power, and even with those enchantments, there were cracks in the wall when the attack subsided. But standing in front of those cracks, like nothing happened at all, was one jiang shi of a gatekeeper.

"Now's my chance!" Meiling leapt in and grabbed Marisa by the arms. "Do you like our new gatekeeper? She's on the clock all the time like myself, so you'll need an invitation from now on, Marisa. Now then…" Meiling started spinning around, building momentum for one massive throw. "Don't come back until you have all the books you stole, and only then will you be permitted entry. Now…goodbye!" With all her might, Meiling threw the black-white witch as far as she could. And in an instant, she was just a speck on the horizon.

"That was amazing," Yoshika said in awe. "I didn't even know a person could be thrown that far!"

"It's all a matter of training…which brings me to my next point. Are your arms stuck like that; out in front of you?"

"My joints are all stiff. Been that way ever since I was resurrected."

"Hmm…we'll have to remedy that."

* * *

**I've seen a 4koma (or was it 3koma?) with Yoshika and Meiling where the jiang shi's doing stretches with Meiling's assistance. If you search the two together on Danbooru, you can probably find it. Or if you have a privileged account and can search more than two tags, add the tag for Hatate as well…or it might have been Aya. Not sure which one, but it was one of those tengu reporters.**

**Also, on a totally unrelated note, does anybody know where I can obtain ? I can't seem to locate it and I need it to run an RPG-maker with which I plan to create a small Touhou RPG. I'm starting to think it should star the EoSD cast so I can go with the usual "Warrior, Mage, and Rogue characters together in a party" theme with Meiling, Patchouli, and Sakuya.**

**Or if I did it with MoF characters, it could be Momiji, Nitori, and Aya. …actually, that doesn't sound too bad. A fun little RPG with Momiji as the main protagonist, because she's not the main protagonist in nearly enough fan works. Guess who the final boss would be? No really, just guess.**

**Seriously, please do guess. I don't know who it would be myself XD**


	2. Chapter 2: Doing Some Stretches

**A second chapter, made on the same day as the first one! I think I'm doing fairly well with writing this fanfic so far, and I have a bit of a plot worked out, though it's rather vague at the moment. Hopefully it'll clear up by the end of the next chapter so I can get right into it.**

* * *

"Right, this won't hurt a bit…I think." Meiling gripped Yoshika's arm with both hands; one at the wrist and one at the shoulder. "Ready?"

"Yep!"

"Alright." Meiling turned the arm to the side, creating tons of bone-cracking sounds in the process. Now up, and down, and to finish it, Meiling turned the arm full-circle around, which ended with one very loud and grotesque _POP!_ "I think that did it. Now for your elbow…" _POP!_ "Alright, see if you can move your arm around."

"Okay." Yoshika tried to lift her arm, and…it worked! She could bend her elbow, or move her arm around, or do whatever with that arm! It was just as flexible as a regular person's arm now! "Thanks, Mei-" _POP!_

"And that should do it for both your arms. Any other stiff body parts?"

"My back, I guess. But can we do that last? My knees also don't bend, so let's do that before we fix my back."

"Sure thing." Lifting up one of Yoshika's legs, Meiling began pulling the lower half of her leg back down. Her knees were a lot stiffer than her arms, and Meiling was afraid for a second that the leg would tear in half before the knee budged. But sure enough, _POP!_ Fixed knee. "Keep stretching your arms. Rigor mortis stiffens your muscles, so stretching is good for you to do after your joints are de-stiffened."

"Alright." This was pretty cool! Before today, Yoshika's arms were always extended in front of her, and she had to walk kind of funny because her knees wouldn't bend, but now Meiling was fixing all of that. _POP!_

"Try stretching your legs for me. We'll do your back once I know all your limbs can move normally." And with great delight, Meiling watched her new comrade stretch all four of her limbs. This was the beginning of something great; Meiling knew it. "Okay, now your back. This one might actually hurt a bit, so let me know when you're ready." Meiling stepped behind Yoshika, and put her hands on the jiang shi's shoulders. "Take a deep breath if you want to, and nod when you're ready."

"I'll do that." So she did. Yoshika inhaled deeply, held her breath for a second, and without exhaling, nodded. Time for her back to be-"Ow!"

"Hmm…I don't think that quite did it. Try bending your back, alright?"

"Will do." Yoshika tried leaning forward. Nope. Her back was still as stiff as ever. "Try again."

"Alright. Let's try it like this instead…" Last time she kneed Yoshika right in the center of her spine, but obviously that only succeeded in causing her pain; certainly not the goal Meiling tried to accomplish. This time, she decided to try and elbow Yoshika's back instead. _SNAP! _"Better?"

"I think…" Yoshika tried again. The top of her back bent a little, at about where her shoulders were, but that was the extent of it. "Just a little better. Whatever you did just now, do it harder."

"I've got a better idea. This is probably going to hurt _a lot_, but if this doesn't loosen up your back, nothing will. Ready?"

"I suppose…"

"Alright." Meiling took a deep breath. She had to focus to pull this off right; doing it wrong would hurt even more than doing it right. And it would hurt both Yoshika _and_ Meiling. "Here goes. Fiery Attack: Roc-Killing Fist!" Punch one! _SNAP!_ Punch two! _SNAP!_ And the final punch; the ultimate melee attack on anything; the greatest evidence of Meiling's unquestionable physical power! _BAM!_ And up Yoshika flew. _Wayyy_ up into the sky. Now the hard part. Meiling would have to catch Yoshika before she hit the ground and seriously injured herself. Not only that, but it would look bad on Meiling's part if this attack did too much harm on the new gatekeeper's first day on the job. That kind of thing could easily lead to her getting fired, or worse…the jiang shi was coming down! She fell like a rock, just plummeting down to the ground. "I've got you," Meiling shouted. And luckily, Meiling was able to stand on her words as she caught the jiang shi, even if the forces of gravity and momentum pulled Meiling down to the ground instantly. At least she was able to catch Yoshika and cushion her fall. "Is your back better now?"

"Let's see…" The jiang shi got up to her feet, and tried to bend forward. Success! She could bend far enough to even touch her toes! Yoshika straightened herself out, and tried to bend backwards. And she could do that too! She was just as flexible as any regular person now, thanks to Meiling! "Thank you, Meiling!" This was amazing! If Yoshika didn't know any better, she'd swear she never even had rigor mortis in the first place!

"You're most welcome. Now that you can move your body again, you'd better stretch plenty so you don't stiffen up again. Also, did it hurt when I launched you like that?"

"Actually, not much. First you threw that witch like that, and now you made me able to move normal. Meiling, you're awesome!"

Meiling could feel a mix of pride and embarrassment at the same time that Yoshika thought so highly of her all of a sudden. "Well, it's kinda my duty and stuff to make sure you're the best gatekeeper you can be. It'd be rude of me to not mentor you and help you out. You know?"

"Not really."

"Hmm…" _Rumble…_ "Hm?" Meiling's attention turned to the source of the noise. At best, a fairy falling down from the sky. At worst, Marisa was back with something _very _big that could pulverize both Meiling and Yoshika in a second. Meiling hoped for the fairy. There was no fairy, but Marisa hadn't arrived either. Instead, the source of the rumbling was a number of thick black clouds over the horizon. "Well, that doesn't look good. But it also doesn't look like that storm's gonna hit us for a good day or two, so we should be fine."

"Looks pretty bad judging by those clouds," Yoshika added. "And we have to stay outside for it?"

"Not to fear! This mansion came from the outside world, in case nobody filled you in, and the humans there seem to be ready for just about any kind of weather! We used to have two gatekeepers in the past as well, but the second one quit and ran far away after he learned Lady Remilia was a vampire." As unfortunate as that was, the look on his face still amused Meiling a bit to this day. "We're prepared for any kind of weather, no matter how severe." Then Meiling walked over to the brick wall that surrounded the mansion, and continued "Eventually, everybody got tired of me coming in whenever something was wrong with the weather, myself included, so Sakuya and I started working on a secret compartment in the wall that had all my stuff to ward off the weather." Elbowing a specific spot, the wall cracked open a little bit. "I made the entrance, and Sakuya made the inside bigger with her time powers; the same way she did with the mansion itself. Come on in."

"Okay." The compartment looked itty-bitty from the outside, but Yoshika wasn't going to argue. Meiling had just given her full freedom over her body, and let her move her joints however she pleased. Arguing would just be rude! So she did as Meiling said, and…it was certainly bigger than it looked! Big enough to comfortably fit two, maybe three people with all sorts of things on shelves and racks.

"Here," Meiling said, handing Yoshika a long yellow coat that was long enough to reach her knees. "Put this raincoat on. It'll keep you dry and let you still have both your arms to spare, unlike an umbrella, so it's any good gatekeeper's first choice in warding off rain."

"Okay." Yoshika slipped on the unbuttoned raincoat, and started doing the buttons up, from the top down. "I see there's two in here. Were you expecting me or something?"

"Nah, the one you're wearing used to belong to another gatekeeper I used to work with when the mansion was in the outside world. It looked like it would rain pretty hard, so put these on too." Now Meiling handed Yoshika a pair of bright yellow boots. "I've had many a pair of shoes messed up by heavy rain, so Sakuya went out while we were in the human world and bought a pair of wading boots so we didn't have to keep buying more shoes. She was even kind enough to buy some wading pants, and two of everything like always, but I think the pants look dumb. I've worn them _once_ when the mansion's grounds pretty much flooded."

"Rained that hard, huh?"

"Yeah…rainy day in London. But we're not in London; we're in Gensokyo now and judging by those clouds, it looks like tomorrow's weather has 'stormy' written all over it, so we need to be ready." Meiling put on a raincoat and a pair of boots of her own, and said "We also sleep in here, just for reference."

"Wait, if we sleep here, why are we wearing this stuff now?"

"Two reasons. One; I want you to get used to the material it's made of, and two; if that storm hits early, it's way better to be safe than sorry."

"Hold on…why do we sleep in here? Doesn't that leave the gates available to intruders?"

"Nighttime intruders have much worse things to worry about than us. The Lady and her sister are vampires, and many a foolish nighttime intruder has met the younger sister, and they're never heard from again." It sounded like a ghost story, but it was entirely true. The only thing was that nobody besides the residents and workers of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were able to see the younger sister and live to talk about it, and the youkai who were resurrected a day or two later were too terrified to talk about it with anybody, and those youkai stayed _far_ away from the Scarlet Devil Mansion at all times. "Maybe I'll introduce you to Lady Flandre one night."

"E-Eh? No thanks!"

"Relax; she's generally pretty harmless. It's only the people who hurt her that she attacks. Unless it's a full moon; don't visit Lady Flandre on a full moon."

"Okay, I suppose."

* * *

**The following morning…**

Meiling opened up the door of the compartment to be greeted with pouring rain. "Yep." Closing the door, she grabbed the raincoat and wading boots again, and started putting them on before she started waking Yoshika up. She was in one of two sleeping bags; the other was already rolled up and put on its shelf by Meiling. "Hey, wake up."

"Huh?" Yoshika rubbed her eyes, and stretched her arms out to start waking herself up. Being able to move like this still filled her with joy.

"Come on. Rainy day today so we have to gear up for it."

"Alright, let me wake up…"

"I'll be outside waiting for you, alright?"

"Sure thing."

* * *

**I may have a bit of a fetish :P**

**Just remember that I say "may" so I might actually not. It's up to you to guess whether or not I do, but I refuse to say if you're right or wrong…okay, maybe that's a lie. Or maybe it isn't :P**

**Only one way to find out, eh?**


	3. Chapter 3: A Stormy Day in Gensokyo

**This is a pretty fluffy chapter, and it makes me want to write a couple spin-off fanfics. I'll explain at the end of the chapter so as to avoid spoilers. It also sets up a nice story arc, and I appreciate ideas of other things the two gatekeepers may have to wind up doing until I can think of a certain plot with an antagonist, beginning, and end.**

**Also, I want to extend a thank-you to Sonanoka21093 for pointing out that the first two chapters were originally using the same documents as the first two chapters in The Traveling Gourmet; I give you one thank-you for every year of history China has accumulated.**

**I'm a bit too much of a Touhou fan (if such a thing is possible) because when I hear China, I think of Meiling, Yoshika, Toyosatomimi, THEN the country. And then Tenshi.**

* * *

"Hey there."

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said it was really coming down." Yoshika couldn't even think of a time that she'd seen it rain this hard, ever. It was almost like one giant waterfall pounding down against all of Gensokyo. Meiling didn't look too happy about it. "Hey, I've got more to worry about from the rain than you do. I'm a jiang shi, so I can get all bloated and watery and stuff if I get too wet…" That didn't sound good. As far as she knew, though, that little anecdote was true.

"It's not the rain that I'm worried about." Meiling turned to look at the garden behind the gates, and said "All the flowers are probably going to be overfed and die. I worked hard on that garden, too."

"So you're the gatekeeper _and_ gardener? Hey, when this storm stops and you've got to start over with the garden, can you teach me how to do that gardening stuff too?"

"Sure! It'd be great to have another set of hands helping me out in the garden, and I kind of like the ironic feel of a dead jiang shi helping bring life to a beautiful garden." At the least, the humor in it brought a smile to Meiling's face. _CRASH!_ One bolt of lightning split the sky in two, and crashed down right in the Scarlet Devil Mansion's wondrous garden! For a short moment, there was a fire in the garden, but it was put out near-instantly by the rain. "Nooo! It got the carnations!" Those were her favorite flowers out of the bunch! Carnation seeds were added to Meiling's mental shopping list.

"Sorry about your carnations." Yoshika was glad Meiling gave her this raincoat; no matter how hard it rained, Yoshika wasn't even getting a drop wet. Still, this storm seemed bad and she feared it would only get worse. "But maybe we should go inside?"

"We can't, though; it's our job to-" _CRASH!_ A massive bolt of lightning! Accompanying it was a sharp increase in the wind that nearly blew Yoshika over. The worst of it was coming "…okay, maybe a short break won't kill us. It'd be stupid to try and ride out the worst of this storm outside, so let's head in." Helping Yoshika keep her footing, Meiling elbowed the entrance to the "gatekeeper's quarters" open and stepped inside, pulling it shut as soon as they were in, letting out a huge breath of relief when she did. "Glad to be out of that," she said, pulling her hood down. "I'm sure Sakuya won't mind us sitting out the worst of it in here; not like anybody would be dumb enough to try and break in with this weather, anyway."

"Not even Marisa?"

"She'd get blown right off her broom. Here's a fun fact; the gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion are enchanted so that they only open and close in the presence of a sharp burst of chi; the kind only I can create. In short, I decide when it opens and closes." Indoors, the two could hear the sounds of the weather outside getting louder and sharper quickly; good thing Yoshika suggested they go inside when she did, otherwise even Meiling would probably be gripping the gates for dear life at this point. As terrifying as such a force of nature was, Meiling saw the whole thing as a symphony of sorts. The pounding sounds of the rain, the explosive claps of the thunder, the wind screaming across the landscape…the gates banging violently in the wind killed the mood, though.

No matter. The red-haired gatekeeper started taking her raincoat off as she continued "Sakuya was the one with that idea, and since the gates are indestructible by almost any means like the walls surrounding the mansion, the only ways to get in are-" _P-KRAANG!_ "What was that?"

"Not sure, but I'm not really eager to go out there and find out."

"We'll find out when the storm dies down. For now, let's think of some way to kill time."

"Ghost stories?"

"…I've got plenty of those. Pull up a seat Yoshika, and I'll tell you the story of the Burnt Innkeeper."

"Ooh, sounds creepy," Yoshika said as she took off her wet raincoat and hung it up on a rack. Then she pulled down a rolled-up sleeping back from its shelf and sat down on it, asking "What happened?"

"Unlike most ghost stories," Meiling started, sitting down on the other sleeping bag and bringing the lantern in the room directly beneath her face. "This story happened at high noon, on a hot summer day. There was an inn ran by a man named Herbert Hewes, and…"

* * *

**10 or 20 ghost stories later…**

"…and nobody ever saw him or his lover again."

"Scary…hey, isn't it kind of quiet in here?"

"Now that you mention it…you're right." Meiling opened the door just a little bit, to see that the sun was out. And beneath the door was ankle-deep rainwater that had built up. "Wow…it really came down, didn't it? Right, back to work," Meiling said, putting on just the pair of wading boots that had sat next to her for the entire time the two shared ghost stories.

"Now we can find out what that noise was earlier!"

"We'd better. These summer storms can get real irritating when you're on the job, but we have to deal with them or Sakuya gives us hell."

"Is she mean," Yoshika asked, following in Meiling's footsteps; both in putting on a pair of wading boots and in her actual footsteps.

"Generally, no." Meiling stepped outside, not quite fond of this ankle-deep water. "But if you're an intruder, or if we slack off or fall asleep on the job, she gets real nasty. You saw her about getting a job, so you tell me. Do _you_ think Sakuya's mean?"

"Not very." Yoshika stepped back into the hidden room for a little bit, and came back out wearing a pair of wading pants as well as the boots. What was ankle-deep for Meiling was a bit worse for Yoshika, and she didn't want to get her legs wet. That was the worst body part to get wet, next to hair! "She comes off as a little cold, but that's the worst of it if you ask me."

"Sakuya has that effect…hey, we're taking another break soon."

"What?"

"Look." Meiling pointed to the black clouds that had just passed the two over, then turned, pointing out that they were in the eye of the storm. "It's just the eye. Looking at the size of the clouds and how fast they're moving, I'd say we have a good…ten, fifteen minutes before we have to head back inside, or a little more if we want to make a close call."

"I'm not up for a close call."

"Me neither." Wait…how did Meiling not notice this when she first walked outside? The source of that mysterious noise was discovered! "Aah! I found the source of the noise!" Meiling pointed to where the gates would be. "Our gates got blown off their hinges!"

"How the hell did that happen!"

"I have no idea," Meiling said in panic.

"We have to find them!"

"Hold on, calm down." Meiling took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and smiled a bit that Yoshika started doing the same thing. "We just need new gates is all. Ours were getting kind of old anyway; Lady Remilia once told me this mansion is at least 700 years old and those gates were there the whole time, so it's to be expected that they'd get blown off on a stormy day, right?"

"I guess so. But wouldn't it take a while to get new gates? I tried hundreds of jobs before I got here, and not once did I see a store where you can buy gates. I think you need to custom-order them. Kinda unfortunate, isn't it?"

"That _is_ pretty unfortunate…" But at the least, it meant that, since Meiling was responsible for the gates, she would probably be the one that had to go order new ones. That meant that she'd be able to custom-order them to her liking! And maybe she could bring Yoshika with her too, and the two could collaborate on new gates! Of course, there was always the possibility that the two would end up having to forge new gates themselves. Meiling was a horrible blacksmith, and since Yoshika had rigor mortis until after she got this job, it was safe to assume she wasn't much of a smith either. "We'll figure it out, though."

"Yep; that's what gatekeepers do." Wasn't it? Yoshika wasn't the best at problem-solving, but that was to be expected from a jiang shi, so that was okay. Meiling seemed very smart, though, so it was certainly fine. "I know a place that might be able to make our gates, and I'm sure the owner will give me a former-employee discount!"

"I don't think they have discounts for former employees, but I like the way you're thinking. We'll talk inside; that storm moves faster than I gave it credit for." Meiling started heading back inside, calling out to Yoshika "Come on in; I want to close and lock this door _before _the storm hits."

"You might be overestimating the weather a little bit."

"…Yoshika, our gates got torn off their hinges. The only reason the mansion is still standing is because of heavy enchantments to protect it from all forms of harm, but even then, I saw that the windows were boarded up. It's better to overestimate a storm than to underestimate one; I learned that a couple hundred years ago in the outside world during a nasty hurricane that incidentally lead to me becoming a gatekeeper. Come on inside." _Rumble…_

"Alright." Yoshika was pretty nervous and tense that the gates got blown off their hinges, but she at least knew Meiling was right in that the room in the wall was the safest place to be, and that was a bit of comfort to her when she entered. "Have you seen worse storms before, Meiling?"

"Truth is, I've been all around the outside world but haven't seen much of this one. In the human world, I saw and experienced almost anything one can imagine, including all sorts of nasty weather in my travels. I've been scorched and frozen; loved and hated; my name was one that explorers in the outside world spoke of only in legends. Of course, if I'm still a legend, it's pretty fitting that I'm in Gensokyo."

"You always seem to have something cool to say, Meiling. But you didn't really answer my question."

"I kinda had to pick between the 'legendary explorer' bit and answering you," Meiling said, scratching the back of her head a bit. "I figured the part about being an explorer would make you more confident in being a gatekeeper, and I didn't want to worry you with my answer, especially now that I've gotten the explorer bit out there."

"You don't have to worry about making me worry…wait, that's a bit confusing." Yoshika started taking off the wading boots and pants she put on, and said "Just answer the question."

"In honesty, no. I can't say I've seen worse weather than this. Sorry about that."

"…" Well, now the jiang shi was just a nervous wreck!

"But! We were fine for the first half of the storm, and I'm certain we'll be fine for the second half as well! This little room is the safest and most secure place in all of Gensokyo, I swear on my honor as gatekeeper, and on my pride as an explorer."

That relieved her nerves some. _CRASH!_ The ear-shattering thunderclap, to be subtle, _did not_ help Yoshika's nerves. It made her scream, it made her jump, it made her cower into Meiling's bosom for a second before she realized just what she was doing, and because of that it made her pale skin turn red. "S-Sorry about that…"

"You're scared. Don't apologize; I can't count the number of frightened people who've done that before." That was a bit of a lie. Meiling, in fact, could count them; on her fingers no less. Seven in total, including Yoshika. The others were children from the outside world Meiling sheltered during similar weather, or fairies in Gensokyo being pursued by a deadly youkai. "Wanna share some more ghost stories?"

"Sure…" Yoshika still couldn't believe she'd just done that!

"Grab a sleeping bag and have a seat. I'm going to tell you a ghost story I picked up on my travels in the outside world; a story older than China itself." It was probably one of the oldest and most terrifying, which probably made it a horrible choice to tell to a person who was already frightened. Especially when the story started on a stormy day like today.

* * *

**Remember when I said I wanted to write two spin-offs? One would be just Meiling and Yoshika sharing their ghost stories, since that seems to be a good pastime the two enjoy together. The other would be a fanfic that takes place in the outside world and follows Meiling's many travels there. But then again, I may not write them :P**


	4. Chapter 4: Important Job

**It sucks that the library's closed on Sunday. I finished this on Saturday night and it's been just sitting here, waiting to be uploaded. Tragic, really.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the heart-warming beginning to a wonderful chapter. Meiling and Yoshika have something to do near the end, and by Mima-sama they'll get it done!**

…**don't let that put you under the impression that Mima-sama will appear in this. Although…**

**If I did things right in both this and Unexpected Expectation, the two could wind up linked (meaning you'd find out what happened to Mima-sama, but I'd have to finish Unexpected Expectation before even considering that, and by that time I'm sure our gate-guarding lovelies will be long out of the location I have in mind for encountering our goddess)**

* * *

"And in the end," Meiling said darkly, the lantern in the room being held just beneath her face. "All they found was a severed hand in each house. It's said that on stormy days like this one, he comes out to try and find his hand or any that will fit him. Beware if your hands are the right size, and don't look directly at him, or else…"

"Or else what," Yoshika asked, rather frightened by how real this ghost story sounded.

"He gets you!" _CRASH! _Meiling couldn't have asked for a better time for a thunderclap, especially one as deafeningly loud as that.

"Eeeeeeee!"

"Settle down! It's just a story; I swear he doesn't exist."

"Are you sure? That's one of the most realistic stories I've ever heard."

"Positive. I've never seen the ghost of Captain Claw before, even in all my travels, so I'm certain he doesn't exist." The second half of the storm was proving to be a lot more violent than the first half; the intensity of the sounds that filled the air were evidence of that. Only this time, there was no banging sounds from the gate, as it had been torn off during the first half. At least the two were inside and safe; that was more important to Meiling than any gate could ever be. "Good god, is that the time?"

"Hm?"

Meiling pointed to the clock behind Yoshika, and said "It's already ten at night and this storm's still going strong. I think we'd better call it a night; we have important work to do in the morning, especially with our gate gone like that." Meiling dimmed down the lantern some, and started unrolling her sleeping bag. "You want me to keep this on? You seemed pretty scared by that whole Captain Claw story."

"Yes please." The jiang shi started unrolling her own sleeping bag, still pretty frightened by the combination of the ghost story and the downright horrendous weather. "You're _sure_ he doesn't exist?"

"The day I see him is the day that a zombie catches a cold."

"Thanks. That's real reassuring." Her words were sincere, but Yoshika tried not to think about it as she snuggled herself deep into her sleeping bag. "So, even though it's summer right now, how set are we for winter when it comes up?"

"We'll be fine. This room might not have the best insulation, but there's plenty of winter clothes and blankets here so you can bundle up all you want once the cold season gets here, plus there's a heater as well."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it; I already told you yesterday that since we're both gatekeepers, it's my obligation to mentor you and get your back during tough times." Meiling dimmed the lantern down a little more, bringing its light to little more to a flicker. "Sleep tight, Yoshika."

"Good night, Meiling. Oh, Meiling?"

"Yeah?"

"…I'm glad I've got you as a mentor."

"…"

"Are you still awake?"

"…yeah. Thanks. That really means a lot to me, Yoshika. You're a good kid, and I'm sure you'll make a great gatekeeper."

"Thanks a lot." Yoshika closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. A lot of her hoped she didn't have a nightmare about Captain Claw tonight; that would be a crappy second night at work.

* * *

**Day three of employment**

Yoshika was decked out in waterproof clothing today. Wading boots and pants because of the accumulated rainwater that reached her waist, and a raincoat with the hood up to ward off the rainy remainder of yesterday's maelstrom. Meiling was dressed the same, albeit in a slightly larger outfit to fit her larger body. "I can't believe it rained this bad," Yoshika said, spinning around slowly in the water to create ripples.

"Me neither. Hell, we could practically _swim_ around the grounds if we wanted to! Imagine how long this'll take to clear out, and how we're going to have to mop our room every time we go in or out. Argh, just thinking about it pisses me off!"

"Just take some deep breaths, like you tell me to when I'm upset."

"You're right, you're right." Meiling took in a couple deep breaths, and while it quelled most of her frustration, there was still some annoyance left over that wouldn't go away until the water that flooded the grounds of the Scarlet Devil Mansion ebbed away completely. "That helped, but I'm still kind of annoyed at all this water. Honestly, I'm kind of glad the gates got blown off since the grounds wound up in this flooded state; putting a gate in is hard, but taking out a rusty one without damaging the walls is even harder." This was why Meiling hated the rain. Because it made her work much more complicated than it had to be.

"Well, it could be worse, right? At least the grounds aren't _completely_ flooded."

"Yeah, that's true…hey, you!" Meiling's attention switched to a black witch hat that was moving along the water, and every now and then it would pop up a little to reveal some blonde hair. Meiling waded over to the hat, and grabbed its owner by the blonde hair and pulled up.

"Ow ow ow ow! Put me down, ze!"

"You're not supposed to be here, Marisa. There are certainly quite a few stupid people in Gensokyo, but Hong Meiling is not one of them!" Meiling let go of Marisa's hair, and gripped her arms, forcing them behind the witch's back. If she had some handcuffs, the scene would be complete. A Chinese youkai in rainwear from head to toe cuffing a soaking wet witch who was getting rained on. For a second, it made Meiling consider quitting her job to become a cop, but she wouldn't do that to Yoshika. Pulling the witch through the water, Meiling showed the intruder to Yoshika, and asked "Your call this time. What should we do with her?"

"Hmm…throw her again?"

"I would, but I can't get enough momentum when I'm hip-deep in water. Any other ideas?"

"Let go of her; I'll deal with it."

"If you say so." Meiling released Marisa's arms only to have Yoshika grip the black-white witch by the same arms.

"You're not supposed to be here. I'm only warning you this one time, and next time I'm going to help myself to a healthy heap of your flesh before we let you go."

"Only if you can catch me, ze! You're a jiang shi, so you probably can't move that fast."

"You'd be surprised. Meiling cracked my bones so I'm just as flexible as you, if not more. Next time I catch you trespassing around here, I'm going to chow down on these arms of yours, so if you're going to invade our home, do it right next time!"

"Yoshika," Meiling said with a mixture of flatness and shock in her voice. "I don't think that's how you're supposed to do it."

"Now get out of here, Marisa, and don't let me catch you sneaking around here again!" Yoshika let go of the witch's arms, expecting her to leave. It made perfect sense to her; the witch had just been told she'd lose her arms if she was caught trying to break in again! It was perfect reasoning in Yoshika's head to expect Marisa to run. Sadly, Yoshika expected wrong.

Instead, Marisa started toward the mansion, wading as fast as she could through the water But not fast enough to escape Meiling's reach. "You're not going anywhere. At least, nowhere in our mansion." Meiling shoved Marisa's face underwater for a few seconds, before yanking her back up. "I'm in a very bad mood today, and the last thing I need is you coming around and making my job harder than it has to be. Go home, and don't come back until we at least have proper gates." Meiling wouldn't be able to throw Marisa as far as she had the other day because of this deep water, but Meiling put all her strength behind one quick toss, which at the least would send her home. "Glad that's done with."

"Amazing…" Yoshika wanted to be able to do stuff like that.

* * *

**A few days later…**

The grounds of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were now just like they were before, minus the lack of gates and a garden. All Meiling cared was that things were dried out again. "I'm glad that's done with," Meiling said, the sun beating down on her. This was how she liked doing her job best; on a hot summer day. In the two days since the grounds were dry once more, Meiling had Yoshika exercising daily; mostly stretches to ensure that rigor mortis was never a problem again. The jiang shi was showing great promise; at this point she was already more flexible than even Meiling was, and her reflexes were becoming lightning-fast. Meiling was pretty proud of herself for training her to be this great at her job.

"Me too." Yoshika was doing more stretches. They were her favorite thing to do when there weren't any intruders, aside from hanging out with Meiling of course. They made her very flexible; enough so that she could put her heels behind her head without even using her arms, and even walk on those arms with her heels behind her head! Were it not for her clothes, people would probably never guess that she was a jiang shi. "It was kind of fun the first day, but all that water got annoying fast. But we still don't have gates…"

"Or a garden…"

"Meiling," Sakuya called from the Scarlet Devil Mansion's front door. "I need to speak with you for a moment."

"You've got it." Meiling ran over to the head maid, and asked "What's up?"

"I need you and Yoshika to go get new gates. Until you get back, I'll handle guarding the grounds personally on top of my other duties."

"Right away!" With newfound enthusiasm, Meiling ran back by the perimeter-marking walls around the Scarlet Devil Mansion and grabbed Yoshika's arm as she ran by the jiang shi, nearly pulling her off her feet or worse, yanking her arm off.

"Hey, where are we going in such a hurry? Meiling, we're not supposed to leave the grounds!"

"Sakuya said that we had to go out and buy new gates! How fast can you run?"

"Not this fast!" The constant tripping and falling over Yoshika was going through during this run validated her statement. "Slow down!"

"We can't get there soon enough," Meiling said, hoisting Yoshika up above her head and catching the jiang shi in both her arms. "Sorry if that hurt a bit, but I promise it's going to be worth it!" And with that, Meiling began running even faster, kicking up a cloud of dirt wherever she went in her rush.

"Well, where do we go to get these gates anyway?" Yoshika could see a few buildings in the distance, so at least she knew they would be there soon.

"The humans living in the Human Village made most of the furniture in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so it stands to reason that they should be able to make our gates as well."

* * *

**Hilariously, I started listening to the COOL&CREATE remix of Meiling's theme toward the end, and the next song that started playing was Rigid Paradise! And to make that even better, while I was writing author notes at the beginning of this chapter, at about the time I started mentioning Unexpected Expectation, the Demetori remix of Sanae's theme started playing!**

**Is my computer a tsukogami now? Wait…tsukogami is the word I'm searching for, right? An item that becomes a youkai because of strong emotional ties between the item and its owner? Something-gami, I know that, and it's not origami or shikigami.**

**Anyway, if my computer became a youkai, I'd hope it was a cute moe girl like those in Touhou. I wouldn't want my computer turning into a big burly dude, unless he looked like Mannosuke.**


	5. Chapter 5: False Accusation

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I guess I lost my muse for a little bit, but it's understandable really. See, I've written three "main" fanfics so far that form the triumvirate of my entire writing style. Poisonous Chinese Tea was my first fanfic and it can be called my equivalent of the PC-98 era, and had a nice balance of light and dark moments. Then some time down the line, my two greatest fanfics, Unexpected Expectation and Kaguya Vs. Mokou came around, each showcasing the darker and lighter sides of my writing respectively. So, with the triumvirate all completed, I guess I lost inspiration for a little bit. But I got it back from downloading nearly all of ZUN's music (Akyu's Untouched Score and the soundtracks of his print works are all that remain) so maybe I really AM the fanfic version of ZUN after all!**

**Anyway, this one's a pretty light chapter, and an obscure PC-98 character comes back for a little bit to do what she thinks she's gotta do. Enjoy~**

* * *

The Human Village. Meiling's face was a very rare one around here, but she looked human enough so nobody paid her any mind. Yoshika, on the other hand…

"She's completely harmless," Meiling swore to the silver-haired teacher in front of her. "We're only here on some business for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and then we'll be on our way. I'll personally make sure Yoshika doesn't do anything she shouldn't."

"You'd best," Keine said. "But I must wonder what the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion is doing way out here? I don't trust your mistress, so fill me in before you do what you have to."

"We need new gates; the old ones got blown off their hinges in a recent freak storm. I'm actually pretty surprised that the Human Village isn't harmed at all…"

"What storm?" It wasn't her hiding history; Keine looked honestly and truly puzzled. "I know that if something that bad blew through here, it'd certainly show, but the weather's been just fine for months; the worst weather we've had in the last year was that nasty cold snap last winter."

"Strange…anyway, we need top-quality gates; completely indestructible by any and all means."

"Then we can't help you," Keine said, keeping her eyes on Yoshika as she talked. "We can make gates, but not indestructible ones. After all, we're only human here. If you need such gates, you'll need a youkai to forge them, but the problem is that there aren't any youkai blacksmiths in Gensokyo, and there haven't been any for hundreds of years." The were-hakutaku would have never guessed that the best idea would cross her for the worst of reasons.

"Stuff," a small merchant shouted with quite a slur in her voice. "Come and buy -hic- stuff gathered from all over Gensokyo, both amazing and mundane!"

"…" Suika wasn't especially welcome in the Human Village. She was loud, disorderly, and she set a bad influence for Keine's students. "Perhaps if you can locate an oni," the teacher said to Meiling. "A _sober_ oni, they may be able to forge your gates. If I've got my history right, and believe me when I say I do, they reside in Former Hell. Sadly, I have to spend most of my time here in the Human Village between my teaching and other duties, so I can't direct you there. You'll have to ask somebody else."

"Hey," Yoshika suggested, pointing to Suika. "She's an oni, Meiling. If they live in Former Hell, she probably came from there, right? Let's ask her how to get there!"

"You just about stole the words from my mouth," Meiling said as the two gatekeepers approached the tsurupettan oni. "Hey, I need to ask you something," the Chinese youkai said to the tiny merchant in front of her.

"Here to -hic- buy something?" Holding up a massive box, Suika took a mouthful of sake from her gourd, and said to Yoshika "Ya look like the kinda lady who needs…ahem, stuff for -hic- her breasts."

"M-My breasts!"

"You want bigger ones, right?" With a strong oni laugh, Suika happily said "That's fine by me; I don't care how big your real boobs are, stranger! In fact, not long ago I passed by a maid who was looking for-" Knife. Right into the back of Suika's calf. "Ow!" And just as fast, the knife was gone, leaving only Suika's wound behind as evidence. "She was looking for pads." And like that, one flat-chested oni became a pincushion with silver knives sticking out from every inch of her body. Sure, an oni was powerful, but nobody was able to withstand the unquestionable power of time, as a dead (for now) oni bleeding on the ground would be able to say…well, if she wasn't dead.

And that would have been fine with Meiling. She would have been, if the knives weren't gone before anybody even had the time to blink. Yoshika was a jiang shi, and nobody in town had ever seen her before. And now this oni's eviscerated corpse was right in front of the two. This didn't bode well at all…

"Murder," the two heard a human shout. Now this _really_ didn't look good.

* * *

**Moments later…**

_SLAM!_ Yoshika Miyako and Hong Meiling, behind bars. It was impossible to determine who the actual murderer was between the two, especially since neither of them ever killed anybody. As such, the head of the police department saw it best to lock them both up until things were settled. "We humans are wary of youkai for a reason," Kotohime said, spinning a key ring around on her pointer finger. "Though I have to hand it to you, I haven't had a chase like that in a long time, so thanks for the exercise at the least." These two youkai weren't the only folks in jail though; their cell was shared with a human man who was here for arson he committed a couple of weeks ago. "When we find out which one of you is innocent, that one can go. However, one of you is a murderer, and you'll be behind those bars for a _long_ time."

"For the last time," Yoshika insisted. "We never killed anybody! You've got it all wrong!"

"That's what they all say, hon. That's what they all say." Turning around, Kotohime was met with a red-eyed maid staring her down less than an inch away from her face, causing even the leader of the police force to jump and drop her keys. "When did you get in here?"

"In three seconds." Sakuya didn't look amused. Perhaps the gatekeepers being in jail had something to do with that. "Why have you jailed our gatekeepers? I thought we at the Scarlet Devil Mansion were on good terms with the law."

"They're murderers," Kotohime shouted, pointing her finger straight at the two; more at Yoshika than Meiling. "Just moments ago, one of these two murdered an oni traveling through town with assorted goods! I wouldn't be surprised if these criminals checked her corpse for loot to top it all off!" Kotohime didn't bother to notice the look of ironic humor on Yoshika's face. A zombie checking a person's body for loot…wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

"These two are innocent. They were simply coming through in search of new gates for the Scarlet Devil Mansion; the previous gates were blown off during the recent freak storm."

"Lies!" Now Kotohime's enraged finger was pointed at Sakuya. "The weather's been just perfect since last winter's cold snap!"

"Cold snap, you say?" That was odd…unless Sakuya was gradually losing her memory, there wasn't a cold snap last winter. In fact, last winter was actually comparatively _warm_ at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "I believe you're the one mistaken. Last winter was relatively warm for winter. There wasn't a cold snap at all. While our mansion may be some distance from your village, I don't think that the distance is enough to allow different weather patterns such as this. But this still doesn't explain why my gatekeepers are in jail for a crime they never committed."

"Do you have proof that they're innocent?"

"In fact…" Sakuya held up a bloody knife, and said "Yes. This was the weapon used to murder Suika Ibuki."

"I'll just confiscate that as evidence." And into a little plastic bag the knife went. "I'll check it for prints tomorrow. For now, there's this burglary ring and we suspect there's at least five different thieves. I have to catch them or my boss won't let me hear the end of it." Picking up the key ring on the ground, the red-haired policewoman unlocked the jail cell to let Yoshika and Meiling out. "You two stay out of trouble, alright? As for your gates, did you ever consider the Kirisame Secondhand Shop? Mr. Kirisame has all sorts of things." Though he wasn't particularly fond of youkai. "Alright, you two have a nice day now!"

"Sure." Meiling found it hard to think that she could turn around a day where she'd been accused of a murder that Sakuya of all people probably committed, all for the sake of saving face and speculated breast size. Sakuya had done some pretty despicable things before, but this took it to a new level in Meiling's opinion, even if that oni would be back by the end of the day. To make it worse, their directions to Former Hell were gone!

* * *

**That night; Scarlet Devil Mansion…**

"This sucks," Yoshika and Meiling said together, standing out in front of the gates. Since there weren't any gates to guard, the two had to stay up all night and guard the grounds. "Big time."

"Moral of the story, Yoshika? When a maid's your boss, employment has a massive chance of being a living hell. At least it's easier with two guards. We can take shifts sleeping."

"Sure. I'll grab a sleeping bag from the compartment." Seconds later, Yoshika was back outside with one of the two sleeping bags in her hands, and held it out to Meiling. "You sleep first."

"I want you to take the first shift sleeping. I'll wake you up when it's time to switch, alright?"

"If you say so." The jiang shi unrolled the sleeping bag, got herself comfortable, and let herself drift off to peaceful sleep accompanied with the sounds of the night…

* * *

**The following morning…**

The sun was what woke Yoshika up. How long as she asleep for? Meiling said she'd wake her up when it was time to switch sleep shifts…but the first thing Yoshika saw was Meiling still standing strong. It took a bit of piecing together, but Yoshika figured it out. Meiling stayed up all night long so that Yoshika could sleep. That was really kind of her, and it showed in the smile that Yoshika got from the realization. "Good morning."

"Oh, hey. Sleep well?"

"You were supposed to sleep, too. Remember?"

"I know. But I've been guarding these gates for a very long time and can easily guard this gate for as much as a week without breaks. You, on the other hand, are new to this job, so I want you to rest plenty so you can improve at a reasonable pace."

"I've been a gatekeeper before."

"Really?"

"Yes." Yoshika stood up, and with much gusto, said "I guarded the holy mausoleum where our Saint Toyosatomimi was resurrected! I was entrusted with repelling all those who would interfere with her resurrection, and…" Quietly, the jiang shi finished "Failed."

"Hey, that's what I'm around for, right? So you don't fail as a gatekeeper from now on. You've got my word, that as long as you and I are working together, I'll do everything in my power to train and mentor you, and to make you the finest gatekeeper in all of Gensokyo."

"…"

"Come on. We've gotta find out how to get to Former Hell and see if anybody's willing to make us those gates."

* * *

**Yoshika in Former Hell…man, she's gonna have one hell of a time avoiding a particular kasha~**

**Aside from that, I can only wonder who the blacksmith that will forge our dynamic duo's gates is. I know who it is ;D inspired (very) loosely by Solblight's works.**

**When I'm old enough to drink, I'm gonna try some sake out. That's not related to the blacksmith or anything, I'm just bringing it up because I'm not old enough to drink and the Gensokyo girls seem to enjoy sake and tea, the latter of which is one of my favorite drinks as well.**

**Isn't alcohol good for you in small amounts? Oh, by the way, I'm back on the job hunt, not that the first try ever got me a job or anything ^_^;**

**This time I'm gonna try McDonald's. I'm sure I can get hired there!**


	6. Chapter 6: Iced Sake

**Fluffy fanfics like this aren't something I see very often, so it's real heart-warming for me when I write them. The two make a real cute couple and a dynamic duo at the same time, which essentially means they're the perfect pair. Like Alice and Patchouli :D**

**Maybe I should write a fanfic pertaining to those two later on down the line? Between Alice's tsundere-ness and Patchy's rat problem (which in my fanfics would lead to a similar tsundere-ness) the two would either be a match made in heaven or they'd be worse enemies than Kaguya and Mokou, but look how those two tend to wind up!**

Altogether, Meiling and Yoshika are quickly becoming one of my favorite pairings. But no pairing warms my heart more than Flandre and Koishi being shipped together. Add Nue for HNNNNG!

* * *

The Former Capitol. This place was the center of civilization in Former Hell as the name would imply, and it was a city of oni. The weak had to watch their backs here, even if most oni here were friendly folks who wouldn't hurt a fly without declaring battle first. Meiling fought an oni once in her many travels in the outside world, but lost the fight. She'd improved since then, but Yoshika…as much a beating that a jiang shi could take, Meiling worried a little. If somebody here fought her, there could be Yoshika-bits all over the place by the end of the fight since Yoshika was the kind of gatekeeper to wear her enemies out rather than the kind that could knock them out like Meiling. And finding a blacksmith would have been easy, were it not for one thing…

The entire city was covered in a blizzard that lent no visibility at all! "I say we go back for a bit," Yoshika said, looking at the city from a distance. "I'll bet it's cold down there."

"Agreed. We should head back to the mansion; there's winter clothes there in our compartment. But to think we'd be wearing them during the summer…" Meiling was beginning to piece it together. The cold snap the Human Village suffered last winter, the recent freak hurricane at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a reported earthquake at the Moriya Shrine just the other day, and now this blizzard over the Former Capitol…something was up. This was an incident, and where there were incidents, there were masterminds. It was hard to decide which was more important; finding the mastermind or the blacksmith. She'd figure it out on the way back home and then back here again…

* * *

**An hour or two later; Former Capitol…**

The door to one of many sake bars in the Former Capitol slammed open, and in stepped two figures who seemed prepared for the Former Capitol's uncharacteristically cold weather. One of the figures was a head or so bigger than the other one, and the bigger of the two seemed more confident. When scarves were removed and hoods pulled down, the two visitors to Former Hell made their faces known.

"We're looking for a blacksmith," Meiling said to the barkeep. "Any idea where one is?"

"Even if I did, they'd be closed because of the weather. I tell ya, yesterday everything was warm and well in Former Hell, and we wake up this morning and poof, we're knee-deep in snow and freezing our asses off." With a grin that had been on his face the whole time, the barkeep said "Maybe when this weather clears up, eh? For now, grab a seat and make yourself comfy like our other fine patrons. Could I interest you in some sake?"

"I don't drink," Meiling said, losing interest quickly. "And my companion here can't get drunk. Being a jiang shi and all." Not a second later did another green-clad figure at one of the tables stand up, eyes ablaze and set on Yoshika.

"Did somebody say _jiang shi_?" The red-haired girl looked at Yoshika some more, and grinned wickedly. "Well I'll be, you _did_ say jiang shi, sis!"

"What if I am a jiang shi," Yoshika asked, standing her ground firmly. "Am I not welcome here or something?"

"Oh-ho, you're welcome alright. I wish more of ya would show up to tell the truth!" The girl stepped up to Yoshika, and held out a hand. "Name's Rin Kaenbyou. Call me Orin for short, sis."

"Yoshika Miyako…" The second Yoshika's hand connected with Orin's, the kasha moved her hand up and caught the jiang shi's entire arm in a deathgrip that could break a human's bones if given time. Good thing she was a jiang shi. "I've got a friend who would be delighted to meet you."

"Thanks, but I'm here on serious business." Something wasn't adding up, aside from this mysterious weather issue. Maybe it was just her being paranoid, but Orin didn't sound like she wanted to have a friendly chat. "Me and Meiling here have to find a blacksmith so we can get new gates for our mansion. So if you'll excuse me…ow, let go!"

"You don't get it," Orin said, her voice lowering and expression darkening with each word she spoke. "I never said you had a choice." And in a blur, Orin was out the door and dragging Yoshika along, out into the freezing cold and the blizzard. Finally, a corpse to burn! That was probably why it was getting so cold down here; fuel for the furnace had been running particularly low recently, so-_SLAM!_

"Let go of her," Meiling said, burying Orin's face in the snow. "What do you know about this abnormal weather?"

"Don't have a clue, sis. Maybe my master would know-"

"Take me to her. Now."

* * *

**Palace of Earth Spirits…**

"I do hope she didn't cause you too much trouble," Satori said as another of her pets brought out a tray with cups of hot chocolate for herself, Yoshika, Meiling, and Orin all to enjoy. "I apparently have to scold Orin later about our strict policy, that we only burn corpses if they _don't _move." At the least, the Palace of Earth Spirits was luxurious and always suited itself well. The room the quartet found themselves in was one with a large fireplace complete with a blazing fire and a black oak table with matching chairs resting on a long red carpet, Satori sitting at the end of the table. This was the Palace's dining hall, though out of the hundred seats here, few of them were ever occupied by somebody other than Satori and the other residents of this mansion.

"I'm sorry, Lady Satori…"

"We'll talk later. For now, go see if anybody froze to death out there. I doubt those corpses will get back up." Satori was practicing the subtle yet difficult art of not reading everybody's minds so that people would like her better. Turning her attention to the two guests enjoying their hot drinks, Satori asked "Now then, what brings you two here?"

"Your pet said you might know more about this strange weather," Meiling said. She was on the side of the table further from the fireplace; it didn't matter to her where she sat. "So, what do you know?"

"All I know is that somebody's up to no good. Nobody here is behind this incident, and I don't think anybody in Former Hell is the mastermind either. However, if you so desire, you may stay here for the time being and use my home as an interim base of operations for lack of better terms. Free of charge."

"That's very generous of you. Thank you, Miss Satori."

"You're not the only one benefiting." With a witty grin, the mind-reader who was trying to not read minds said "My hot spring resort had to shut down because of the inclement weather and all of our hot springs freezing over. It's acting as a shelter for anybody who was near it when this bizarre weather started for now, and as great as this is for personal reputation, it will take a bit of time to gain back my financial losses from this operation." Satori was a mix of proud and upset. Pride that she was doing something this kind for others, and upset that it was costing her more than it should have. "But the resort isn't the main concern. If this weather is allowed to continue, it could have severe repercussions. There will already be an unfortunate aftermath as it is; I hear that the snow has piled up quite a bit." When it melted, it would become water. That would be most unfortunate. The sooner this was resolved, the better.

"I'm just as worried as you." No point in seeing if Yoshika would get involved in this conversation. She was busy helping herself to the delightful feast set out in front of them. Meiling didn't even mind if her plate was beginning to get cleaned off without the Chinese youkai even touching it; this was a conversation best sustained by only two people. "Yoshika and I will start investigating right away."

"Well, take the day to rest, at least. God knows you've earned it for coming all the way out here in this dreadful weather." Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, Satori nodded to one of her pets at the door. "She can show you to your room."

"Thank you very much."

"Incidents need resolving, and I try to avoid getting involved in such things. When you're done, I'll give you each a free three-day pass to my hot springs resort. Until then, enjoy our hospitality."

* * *

**That night, Meiling and Yoshika's room…**

"It's cold in here," Yoshika said, sitting in front of a fireplace. There were lots of them here in the Palace of Earth Spirits. It confused her as to why a mansion in the center of Former Hell needed so many fireplaces, but…

"Here," Meiling said, wrapping a blanket around Yoshika. "If you're cold, it only makes sense to get a blanket. Since you're a jiang shi, I'd hope you take extra good care of your body since you don't have any semblance of homeostasis like living creatures."

"Homeo-what?"

"Homeostasis. It's a thing humans and most youkai have that lets their body maintain itself. If we get cold, we shiver so we can warm up a little, and if we get too hot, we sweat to cool off a bit. As a jiang shi, you can't do that, so you've gotta take extra care of your body."

"I take very good care of my skin, and I do stretches all the time. Is that enough?"

"To stay healthy, sure." Sitting down next to Yoshika, the Chinese youkai said "But being healthy and being well are a bit different. You can be sick as a dog and still be healthy, but if you're sick you aren't well. You and I have to solve this incident, so we can't afford to get sick." It bugged Meiling a little that the two were only supposed to get new gates, but now were caught up in this crazy weather incident. Still, whoever was behind it destroyed their gates, so Hong Meiling the gatekeeper had to show the mastermind just what happened to those who dared to mess with her gates! For now, though, Yoshika was right. It _was_ kind of chilly in here. It was also getting late. "We'd better call it a night."

"But…there's only one bed."

"It's big enough for two. As a gatekeeper, you'll have your pride hurt in much worse ways than just harmlessly sleeping with your mentor. We can't have one of us freeze before we set out to resolve this incident, so just remember that it's all so we can get out job done."

"Right…" It still made Yoshika kind of nervous. She didn't want to get in Meiling's way or anything, but she also knew that Meiling would insist against the jiang shi sleeping anywhere else. In the interest of staying warm for the night, and because Meiling said so, she'd go with it tonight.

* * *

**The following morning…**

One jiang shi and one Chinese youkai, sleeping together under thick covers. Partially because it was the only bed in the room, but also because the two needed to share body heat or one of them would probably freeze overnight, and that would be no good. Meiling's chi powers kept the two extra warm through the night, and Yoshika woke up first this morning, comfortable and relaxed as could be. She owed Meiling big-time for this favor of letting her share the bed, but for now she wanted to just drift off back to sleep. Those chi powers Meiling had _really_ did a good job at keeping the two warm! If only this warmth would last forever…

"Morning, Yoshika."

"M-Meiling!" Now she felt embarrassed that Meiling woke up just as she was starting to imagine this one moment lasting forever, and it showed in her face's new red-based color scheme. "Hi!"

"What's got you all worked up?"

"O-Oh, it's…nothing."

"If you say so."

* * *

**Oh, did I mention that I finished collecting all of ZUN's musical works yesterday? The only songs I didn't keep were the victory and game over themes from PoDD, but every song combined from all of ZUN's works (including arranges in the OSTs) adds up to a hefty 4.03 gigabytes! That's like…roughly 4,000,300,000,000 bytes! Even just the games totals in at about 8.7GB, so that means ZUN is one hell of a musician.**

**Now for notes related to the actual fanfic. That last scene made me smile and warmed my heart up. The next couple chapters are gonna be fun to write because of a situation the two will find themselves in. Man, Sakuya must be pissed that those gates aren't home yet!**


	7. Chapter 7: Fires of Frosted Hell

**Let's see here, last we left out dynamic duo, they were just waking up and Yoshika's beginning to crush on Meiling methinks.**

**Or maybe not ;)**

**I'm glad to be back online, have I said that already? If not, I must say it a thousand times and more; I'm REALLY glad to be back again. I've missed the excellent crew I interact with online, and I'm sure everybody's missed me as well. This is (aside from changing my image) the very first thing I've done after my big return, so let the upload of this chapter mark the start of a continuation of the single greatest chapter in my own life; the will-be legend known only as UnendingEmpire.**

* * *

"Good morning, you two."

"Hi." Yoshika kept the thick blanket from last night wrapped around her tightly; her dead body couldn't keep itself warm in this cold weather so this was by far one of the best ideas. "Don't you have a heating system or something? It's _really_ cold in here."

"I meant to talk to you two about just that." Satori gestured to herself, dressed for winter in the summer. "Orin can't find any corpses to burn in our nuclear furnace because of the poor to nonexistent visibility this unusual weather is bringing, so heating our home has been more than a bit difficult. Okuu's been working as hard as she could, but even she can only push herself so hard. As bad luck will have it, she passed out just before you two arrived yesterday, and this cold weather has made it hard to wake her up. I fear that if you don't resolve it soon, this incident may evolve into a crisis. Please do hurry."

"We're right on it," Meiling said, tossing Yoshika a pile of winter clothes, the Chinese youkai already dressed in several layers of her own. She couldn't tell what the weather looked like outside because all of the windows were frosted too badly, and altogether this was shaping up to be a disaster. Reaching to open the door, Meiling pushed and…this was bad. "It sucks to say this, but I think we're snowbound."

"Snowbound," Yoshika and Satori asked in unison, each with equal shock.

"Afraid so. I bet if I really tried, though…" Meiling started pushing harder against the massive front doors of the Palace of Earth Spirits. She was far stronger than most youkai, and it showed in how the door slowly creaked open against both the piled up snow, the snow that added to the pile, and the bitter cold winds. Then Meiling pulled it shut, letting off a massive sigh of relief when she did. "That was tough. I'll try again soon, but you can't see anything out there. Yoshika and I need to stick together, so you do you have anything that could keep us from getting separated, Satori?"

"I do have _one thing_." Before the nuclear furnace was built, there used to be a torture chamber deep within the Palace of Earth Spirits, meant to accommodate all types of victims. When this place was Hell, there were occasionally giants who needed some torture; giants whose wrists needed handcuffs that, if Satori was guessing right, would fit just right around Yoshika and Meiling. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Meiling sat down, leaning against the door, and patted the floor next to her to signal Yoshika to sit as well. "Your employment seems to have coincided with something pretty bad, Yoshika. I swear, our job usually isn't anywhere near this hard; you just got hired at a bad time is all." Between the freak storm at the mansion, and this out-of-place blizzard…Meiling needed to find out who the mastermind was before something much worse happened.

"I hope not," Yoshika said, sitting down next to Meiling and propping her head on her mentor's shoulder. "I don't think I can handle doing this kind of work _all the time_, no matter how much I'm getting paid." How much _was_ she getting paid for this, anyway? It wasn't like anybody informed her of a salary. Yoshika didn't care how much she was getting paid, though; she'd be willing to do this work for free as long as it let her have something to keep herself occupied with. That was all she really wanted.

"I'll say this at least. Winter at the mansion isn't this cold, so right now you're taking on conditions worse than what you'll probably see back home."

"Here," Satori said, holding out the gigantic handcuffs. "These should fit around the two of you; one each."

And not even seconds later was Meiling cuffing the two in with different ends of the chain. "These should do great," the Chinese youkai said happily. "The chain seems sturdy enough that even if Yoshika and I pull on different sides, it won't break. The chain's a bit longer than I'd hope, but that's an easy fix." Meiling wrapped some of the chain around each different handcuff until about three feet of chain was left. "Much better. Now we can't get too far from each other. Sticking together is crucial, especially in these inclement conditions. Yoshika, you go through the door first, alright?" Waiting for Yoshika to finish putting on the clothes she was handed but not waiting for an answer, Meiling pressed hard against the door to open it again.

"Brrrr!" The icy wind seemed to go straight through Yoshika's clothes, and through the jiang shi herself. Satori was right; the sooner this was resolved, the better.

* * *

**Unspecified amount of time later; unknown location…**

"I c-can't see a thing," Yoshika shuddered. If she weren't already dead, she'd be freezing to death right about now. To make matters worse, the only indication she had to Meiling's location was the tiny tug she felt around her body whenever the Chinese youkai moved. All she saw was complete white, and she was beginning to lose feeling in most of her body. "We've gotta…s-stop for the day!"

"No doubt," Meiling shouted over the icy winds. Then she stopped, and picked up a couple handfuls of snow. It was impossible to tell which way the Palace of Earth Spirits was, and there was no telling where the Former Capitol was. Meiling pondered on how bad the situation was looking as she continued digging through the snow. She needed to make an impromptu shelter; one big enough for both of them. As she did, she occasionally tugged the chain around her body to signal Yoshika where she was until eventually, after plenty of digging and one nasty frostbite over the majority of her body, Meiling's makeshift shelter was finished. She'd set up a large bank of snow to cover the two from the bitter winds, and dug a shallow tunnel beneath the snow that was just small enough to fit the two in a tight fit.

Both gatekeepers were thankful that with that huge snow bank Meiling set up, there wasn't any more snowfall directly in their faces removing all their vision. If Yoshika's lips weren't freezing, she'd make an exclamation about how great a job Meiling did at setting up this shelter. Since she was freezing however, all she did was run up to Meiling and huddle as close to the Chinese youkai as she possibly could, hoping to gain some warmth from her chi powers. Even if it wasn't much, she needed something. For now, she just wanted to sleep this day off and hope things looked better tomorrow. Meiling seemed to share the same train of thought as she brought herself and Yoshika into the small tunnel. _Good night, Meiling._

* * *

**The following morning…**

Yoshika's eyes shot open, only to slam back shut. She hadn't expected them to fill with water the moment they opened. The reason she woke up? Something in the back of the jiang shi's mind was telling her to get up because all of a sudden, Former Hell was like an oven. "Hot…" she rasped, quickly taking off the winter clothes on her body. "So hot…"

"Crap," Meiling shouted, jumping up to her feet and stripping down just as quickly. "When did it get hot all of a sudden?"

"Not a clue…too hot…"

Meiling looked severely pissed off. Whoever was behind this absolutely had to be dealt with! Nobody made a fool out of Hong Meiling and got away with it! First her gates were blown off in the freak hurricane, then Former Hell was like a massive ice cube! Now it was a damned oven and Meiling's regular outfit was back home! Even if she went down to just that it would probably still be too hot. Hat off. Winter clothes off. Aside from underwear, the only thing left on Meiling's body was a green nightgown lent to her from Utsuho's wardrobe. "It's sweltering in here…"

"I know." The only things on Yoshika aside from the lowest possible layer of clothing was her hat, ofuda, and…the skin on her body. That was it. "I'm dying of heat. Dyiiiing…hey! That's the Former Capitol!" What luck. The two wound up just outside it! It was a pain to be knee-deep in this warm water all day, but Yoshika would happily put up with it if it meant resolving this incident, going home, and having a nice cup of tea.

"Indeed it is…we'd better get some answers soon. We're going there, getting our gates, and if we don't have any leads for this incident, we're going home." One sweaty Meiling started for the Former Capitol, continuing "Frostbite is a bitch, but the last thing either of us needs is heat stroke, especially so far from home."

* * *

**Girls are now searching…**

* * *

"Blacksmith," asked a one-horned oni, holding a dish of saké and kicking back casually, taking the most out of the sudden heat. "Well, you've come to the right place!" Pointing up to the little sign hanging just above her door, the oni read aloud "Hoshiguma's Armory; the finest forged goods in all of Former Hell. Name's Yuugi, and you're in luck. With all this heat, forging whatever you need should be quick and simple; no longer than an hour or two. In the meantime, make yourselves comfy!" Swinging open the doors to her small shop, Yuugi asked "So what do you two need on this unexpectedly hot day? Armor? Weapons? Maybe you want something big that can do lots of damage." It was just her guessing, but the taller of these two looked like the kind to prefer large weapons.

"I fight with just my fists," Meiling said, joining the oni blacksmith and followed by Yoshika. "And we need a set of gates."

"Gates, huh? What kind?"

"Big ones," Yoshika said enthusiastically. "Like something you'd put up in front of an old cemetery!"

"Cemetery," Meiling asked. "I dunno…all that gloom and doom creeps me out in iron. I was kinda thinking more like something with a kind of rose-and-vine design going on."

"Cemeteries creep you out?" Yoshika had Meiling figured for the kind who feared absolutely nothing. She'd been pretty fearless the whole time. Her fearing cemeteries struck Yoshika as pretty odd. "Then we can call it a way to help get rid of your fear, right?"

"It's not really cemeteries that creep me out, it's just their gates. I swear, you could impale somebody on the tips of those things, and I don't want Miss Sakuya to start getting ideas."

"Hmm…"

"Butting in for a moment," Yuugi said, butting in for a moment. "I could just as easily forge it half-and-half, you know. One half cemetery-like and the other half with that whole rose design and stuff. It'd cost a little extra for the extra effort, but I'll happily forge half-and-half gates like that if you want."

"Good idea," both gatekeepers said in unison. All that remained was to pay Yuugi for the gates and wait for them to get forged. The money was back at the mansion, so they'd have to get that and come back with it.

"Come on," Yoshika said, tugging Meiling's arm a little. "We've gotta get the money, right?"

"Yeah. Let's get going."

* * *

**I said some pretty cool stuff at the beginning, I believe. Whether you thought it was cool is your own opinion, of course ^_^**

**I wanted to have a BS amount of cold, then a slightly BS amount of hot, but Meiling brings plenty of hot herself probably, albeit a different kind of hot. The shapely ladies like Meiling and Komachi, however, usually fall behind the adorable moe of folks like Youmu and Kogasa in my book, with the sole exception of Nue. No Touhou character is more beautiful than Nue, I think.**

**On the note of Nue (not that this matters or anything) I like to imagine her having straight hair instead of the curly hair I hear she has. Like her portrait in EVO+ or something. Did you know that Yukari can also change her shape? I mention this because Necrofantasia started playing just now, and I started thinking of the gap ha-I mean youkai.**

**All she has to do is change a few borders (like border between flat and chesty, or short and tall) and Yukari could take on just about any shape she wanted to.**

**Weird, right?**


End file.
